The Persian Gulf in Modern Times: People, Ports, and History

This book explores the historiography, ports, and peoples of the Persian Gulf over the past two centuries. The authors seek to clarify how the historical Gulf is different from that of the modern day, and offers a more inclusive history of the region than previously available. The volume takes a fresh approach that examines the region from the viewpoint of local historians combined with important original research. By restoring the history of minority communities which until now have been silenced, it provides a corrective to the "official story" put forward by modern states. It is a major contribution to the history of the region, and follows up the previous groundbreaking Palgrave Macmillan volume, also edited by Lawrence G. Potter, The Persian Gulf in History.

This book explores the historiography, ports, and peoples of the Persian Gulf over the past two centuries, offering a more inclusive history of the region than previously available. Restoring the history of minority communities which until now have been silenced, the book provides a corrective to the 'official story' put forward by modern states.

Lawrence G. Potter is Adjunct Associate Professor of International Affairs at Columbia University, USA, where he has taught since 1996. He also serves as Deputy Director of the Gulf/2000 Project. He holds a PhD in History from Columbia and has edited five volumes on the region, most recently Sectarian Politics in the Persian Gulf and The Persian Gulf in History.

Introduction, Lawrence G. Potter
PART I: THE HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE PERSIAN GULF
1. Rethinking the History of Port Cities in the Gulf, Nelida Fuccaro
2. Narrative and the Historian's Craft in the Arabic Historiography of the Gulf, Fahad Ahmad Bishara
3. The Historiography of the Persian Gulf: A Survey of the 19th and 20th Century Persian Sources, Gholam Reza Vatandoust
4. Narrating the Gulf: Literary Evidence for History, Muhsin al-Musawi
PART II: PORT CITIES AND LITTORAL SOCIETY
5. The Rise and Fall of Port Cities in the Persian Gulf, Lawrence G. Potter
6. Muscat as a Port City, J. E. Peterson
7. Bushehr: Southern Gateway to Iran, Willem Floor
8. Inside a Gulf Port: The Dynamics of Urban Life in Pre-Oil Kuwait, Farah Al-Nakib
PART III: PEOPLES IN THE GULF
9. Indian Communities in the Persian Gulf, c. 1500-1947, James Onley
10. The Baluch as an Ethnic Group in the Persian Gulf Region, Carina Jahani
11. 'Purity and Confusion': The Hawala between Persians and Arabs in the Contemporary Gulf, Ahmed al-Dailami
12. The African Presence in Eastern Arabia, Matthew S. Hopper
13. Identity Transformations of African Communities in Iran, Behnaz A. Mirzai